万物简史 第480期:生命在前进(22)

 　　The Cambrian explosion, if that's the word for it, probably was more an increase in size than a sudden appearance of new body types, Fortey says. “寒武纪大爆发，如果可以这么称呼的话，更可能是个儿变大，而不是新体形的突然出现，”福泰说，

　　"And it could have happened quite swiftly, so in that sense I suppose it was an explosion." “这种情况可能发生得很快，因此在那个意义上可以说是一次爆发。”

　　The idea is that just as mammals bided¹ their time for a hundred million years until the dinosaurs² cleared off and then seemingly burst forth³ in profusion⁴ all over the planet, 这话的意思是，像哺乳动物那样磨蹭了l亿年，直到恐龙让道，然后才似乎突然之间在全球大量增加。

　　so too perhaps the arthropods and other triploblasts waited in semimicroscopic anonymity⁵ for the dominant⁶ Ediacaran organisms to have their day. 节肢动物和别的三胚层动物也是一样。它们以半微生物的形态默默地等待，等着占支配地位的埃迪亚卡拉动物群没落。

　　Says Fortey: "We know that mammals increased in size quite dramatically after the dinosaurs went—though when I say quite abruptly⁷ I of course mean it in a geological sense. 福泰说：“我们知道，恐龙一走，哺乳动物的个儿戏剧性地变大了——虽然我说相当突然，但我当然是从地质学的意义上说的。

　　We're still talking millions of years." 我们仍然在谈论几百万年。”

　　Incidentally, Reginald Sprigg did eventually get a measure of overdue⁸ credit. 顺便说一句，雷金纳德·斯普里格最后还是得到了一份荣誉，虽然来得晚了一点。

　　One of the main early genera, Spriggina, was named in his honor, as were several species, 有个早期的主要的“属”像几个物种那样以他的名字命名，被称之为斯普里格属。

　　and the whole became known as the Ediacaran fauna⁹ after the hills through which he had searched. 整个儿发现在后来被叫做埃迪亚卡拉动物群，以他寻找化石的山区名字命名。

　　By this time, however, Sprigg's fossil-hunting days were long over. 然而，到那个时候，斯普里格寻找化石的年代早已过去。

　　After leaving geology he founded a successful oil company and eventually retired¹⁰ to an estate in his beloved Flinders Range, where he created a wildlife reserve. 他离开地质学以后建立了一家很成功的石油公司，最后隐退到他心爱的弗林德斯山脉中的一处庄园并在那里创建了一个野生物保留地。

　　He died in 1994 a rich man. 他1994年去世时已经是个富豪。

1 bided   

v.等待，停留( bide的过去式 )；居住；等待；面临

参考例句：

• Jack was hurt deeply, and he bided his time for revenge. 杰克受了很深的伤害，他等待着报仇的时机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Their ready answer suggested that they had long bided that. 他们很爽快的回答表明他们已经等待这个（要求）很久了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 profusion   

n.挥霍；丰富

参考例句：

• He is liberal to profusion.他挥霍无度。
• The leaves are falling in profusion.落叶纷纷。

5 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

6 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

7 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

8 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

9 fauna   

n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系

参考例句：

• This National Park is an area with unique fauna and flora.该国家公园区域内具有独特的动物种群和植物种群。
• Fauna is a biological notion means all the animal life in a particular region or period. 动物群是一个生物学的概念，指的是一个特定时期或者地区的所有动物。

10 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。